Legal & General Life Insurance Review

Legal & General America Life Insurance Ratings at a Glance

Are you looking for a life insurance policy? The choices can seem overwhelming if aren't sure what type of policy to buy. The key is to look for an insurance provider that offers various types of policies with a good amount of riders to choose from. Benzinga looks at Legal & General Life Insurance and breaks down the pros and cons to help you make a good decision.

Term life insurance: Term life insurance is the type of insurance Legal & General stresses as best for most people on its website. Term life policies are available for 10-, 15-, 25-, 30-, 35- and 40-year increments. The longer-term policies cost more than your short-term policies. 

However, the longer-term policies like the 40-year term life insurance policy allow you to have continuous coverage regardless of any changes in your health. The 10-year policy requires you to requalify based on your health information after the 10-year term is up. 

Term life insurance policies through Legal & General are available for individuals up to age 95 as long as the premiums are paid. 

Universal life insurance:  Universal life insurance is a type of whole life insurance policy and is the only type of permanent life insurance offered by Legal & General Life Insurance Company. Universal life insurance is a policy with a cash value option that allows you to withdraw funds and make investment choices.

The great thing about universal life insurance is that it has flexible premiums, so if your income situation changes, you can vary your payments based on your income. In addition, universal life insurance policies are effective for life as long as your premiums are paid.

Here are the different savings components of each different type of universal life insurance policy:

• Traditional universal life insurance: Your invested cash value earnings grow at a fixed rate.
• Variable universal life insurance: You can invest your cash value in equities. Earnings fluctuate based on market conditions.
• Indexed universal life insurance: This policy allows you to invest in the stock market but offers some protection against volatile market conditions.

Legal & General America offers universal life insurance with variable coverage and a fixed rate of return. You can get a universal life insurance quote by contacting a partner agent of Legal & General. 

Term Life Insurance Riders

Legal & General allows you to customize your term life insurance policy through policy riders which add coverage to your policy.

• Stacking term rider: You can add additional time to your policy. For example, you can add a 20-year rider to your 40-year term life insurance plan if you need extra funds for things like college tuition for your children. 
• Children’s life insurance rider: Protection for your children
• Accelerated death benefit rider: Advance payment of a portion of your benefits if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
• Accidental death and dismemberment pays out for unintentional death or dismemberment.
• Critical illness insurance pays a cash benefit to help with expenses for critical illnesses such as heart attacks or cancer treatment.

Final expense insurance: Legal & General also offers final expensive insurance in addition to its other life insurance products. Legal & General Insurance final expenses policies offer guaranteed acceptance regardless of health for members aged 50 to 80. This means that no matter your health, the cost of your insurance will not increase. 

Waiver of premium rider:  For an additional fee, you can add on a waiver of premium rider which suspends your premium payments for up to six months if you become disabled. 

Legal & General has excellent customer service ratings with an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. To contact Legal & General customer service, Banner Life Insurance customers can call 800-638-8428 between the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. You can also make contact via email at customerservice@bannerlife.com. 

William Penn Life Insurance customers can call 800-346-4773 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 ET, Monday through Friday. Customer service is available by email at l customerservice@wpenn.com. 

Legal & General has a life insurance calculator to help you determine the amount of life insurance you need. You can also speak to a licensed agent for additional help by calling 888-984-3393. 

In 2021, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) assigned Legal & General a complaint index of 0.05, lower than many other insurers based on the industry average. You can tell customers seem to be satisfied with Legal & General's life insurance products and services since its complaint score is lower than the predicted baseline complaint index of 1.00. 

With Legal & General, you can file a claim online and call 800-638-8428, ext. 6974 if you need assistance. Once your claim has been approved, you can receive payment in as little as one business day. In addition, you can choose the preferred method you want the company to contact you about your claim: by email, phone, fax or by mail.

You will need to complete the proof of death claimant’s statement with the original signed statement and original signatures for all claims. In addition, you must obtain a certified copy of the insured’s death certificate that lists the cause and manner of death. 

Finally, if available, the company requests you include a copy of the policy. If you’ve lost your policy, you can request a duplicate copy with the lost policy form provided in your claims packet.

Legal & General Life Insurance premiums are competitively priced. Here are its prices for term life insurance with the rate for a healthy, 25-year-old male non-smoker in excellent health purchasing $250,00 in coverage:

Unfortunately, Legal & General does not offer the option of obtaining a permanent life insurance quote online. To get a quote for permanent life insurance, you will have to contact the company directly.

To start the quote process for a term life insurance policy, you will enter your personal information like birth date, gender, height, weight, nicotine use, ZIP code, state, coverage amount and policy length. Some term life insurance policies, according to the website, are offered for as little as $7 per month. 

Legal & General also offers a downloadable worksheet to help you determine the amount of life insurance you need. To complete the worksheet, you’ll need information about all sources of income, your mortgage and other outstanding debts, education expenses, savings accounts and any existing life insurance policies you have. 

The cost of life insurance will vary on several factors including your unique medical history, tobacco usage, gender, family history, age and occupation. Of course, the higher the amount of life insurance you purchase, the more it will cost. 

However, you can make lifestyle changes that will potentially lower your cost of life insurance, including stopping smoking, eating healthier and losing weight.

To apply for a Legal & General life insurance policy, submit your personal information online. However, this option is only available for term life insurance policies. 

For a quote on universal life insurance, you will have to contact an agent by telephone. Once you have your term life insurance quote, you can submit your contact information and a licensed life insurance agent will contact you to finalize your life insurance policy purchase. 

After you complete your application, you may have to take a medical exam depending on your responses to health questions. The insurance company schedules the exam and also pays for it. 

You can expect the exam to take about 30 minutes and involve routine procedures such as checking urine, blood samples, checking your height, weight, blood pressure, pulse rate and sometimes an electrocardiogram (EKG).

Legal & General vs. Competitors

Legal & General Life Insurance Company offers quality life insurance products that stand out amongst its competitors. Policy offerings like multiple life insurance riders and coverage in all 50 states, as well as its financial strength ratings, make it an insurer worth considering for your life insurance needs. 

Legal & General is one of the world’s largest insurance companies with superior financial strength ratings and a low customer complaint index. In addition, the variety of policy options for term life insurance exceeds that of many of its competitors and it also offers life insurance policies to individuals up to age 95. 

Legal & General is an excellent choice overall when considering life insurance options. However, to find the best policy to fit your unique situation, shop and compare options to find the best value in a life insurance policy. 

Legal & General: Additional Options

In addition to its life insurance products, Legal & General also offers retirement annuities to help retirees who want to generate a steady stream of income. Here are the types of annuities offered by Legal & General. 

Life annuity: Periodic payments are made for life. All payments stop upon Annuitant's death.

Life annuity with cash refund or installment refund: Periodic payments during the Annuitant's lifetime are guaranteed. Upon death, the total lifetime benefit payments are reduced from the guaranteed minimum total payment. Any leftover guaranteed benefit is paid to the beneficiary in a lump sum or in installments.

Annuity with period certain: Annuitant receives periodic payments until death or the end of a chosen guaranteed payment period, such as 10 years. If the annuitant dies before the chosen guaranteed payment period ends, the remaining guaranteed payments go to the beneficiary (ies).

Temporary life annuity: Periodic payments are made until the Annuitant dies or the elected temporary period expires.

Period certain annuity: Up to a chosen duration, periodic payments are paid to the Annuitant. If the annuitant dies before the time ends, the remaining periodic payments go to the beneficiary.

Joint & survivor annuity: When retiring, the annuitant names a Contingent Annuitant. Periodic payments are made during the Annuitant's and Contingent Annuitant's lifetimes. The amount of each periodic payment is determined by the Annuitant's choice upon retirement. This could be 50%, 75% or 100% of the Annuitant's periodic benefit.

Joint & survivor annuity with cash installment refund: When retiring, the annuitant names a Contingent Annuitant. Periodic payments are made during the Annuitant's and Contingent Annuitant's lifetimes. The amount of each periodic payment is determined by the Annuitant's choice upon retirement. Again, this could be 50%, 75% or 100% of the Annuitant's periodic benefit.

There is also a minimum total payment guarantee. The total lifetime benefit payments made by both the Annuitant and the Contingent Annuitant are reduced from the guaranteed minimum total payment amount. Any leftover guaranteed benefit is paid to the beneficiary in a lump sum or in installments.

Joint & survivor annuity with period certain: On retirement, the annuitant names a Contingent Annuitant. Periodic payments are made during the Annuitant's and Contingent Annuitant's lifetimes. The amount of each periodic payment is determined by the Annuitant's choice upon retirement. This could be 50%, 75% or 100% of the Annuitant's periodic benefit. If both annuitants die before the end of the chosen guaranteed payment period, the remaining guaranteed payments go to the beneficiary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. AMBest. “AM Best Affirms Credit Rating of Legal & General Group PLC.” Accessed January 10, 2021.
2. Legal & General. “Home: About Us: Banner Life & William Penn.” Accessed January 10, 2021.
3. Legal & General. “How to get life insurance: From application to approval.” Accessed January 10, 2021